Friday, August 22, 2008

"Mr Badawi, you haven't seen the faces of Singaporeans on the MRT" - Lucky Tan

Why must the Prime Minister of a country take the public transport to find out what it is like when he can ask his Transport Minister who will ask the SMRT who will then send a reassuring letter that the service quality is world class but needs to be maintained with more fare hike. This Badawi must really be very free to be enjoying the public transport in KL ( I thought that Anwar feller is keeping him busy).

Looking at the photo, the KL trains appear to be underutilised there is atill a lot of empty space. They should learn how to pack more people in their trains from Singapore. He should be telling his people that the transport system is world class and is the best they can get so they will feel better when they take the train.

"Are you aware that people are squeeze like sardineson buses and trains when they go to work?"- Ms Chee to PM Lee in court

The other day during rush hour, I took the MRT and realised that it is possible now to have a "hands free" journey. The train was so packed that I don't have to hold on to the rails.

refer http://www.bharian.com.my/Current_News/BH/Friday/BeritaUtama/20080822070304/Article and if you think posing pictures only make it to the news, think again. know your customers, know their needs personally. if that is a good sign to know the people better, then so be it.

Singaporeans over the years have seen their quality of life going down the sh*tters. Packed MRT trains, more GST, ERP, inflation, etc. Where's the Swiss quality of life and the golden age that you promised, dear (millionaire) ministers?

Just last night I deliberately took a train from Toa Payoh at 945pm in order to avoid the exasperating crowd....imagine the utter astonishment I had when I saw that the train was still packed to the doors. Basically, nothing has changed even when I took the train a full 4 HOURS after the start of rush hour.

Also.....whoever heard of anyone having to wait for 40 minutes until my 10th bus, YES I KID YOU NOT, to come along with enough space for me to squeeze onto the steps of the bus and have the "dignity" of having my face pressed against the door and an FT's hand practically on my ass? Where else in this world (among developed first-world countries like ours) does one got to wait until the 10th bus to come along in order to be able to board it?

Do we want our girlfriends/small children/pregnant women to be in this human crush? And please I do not wish to hear lame suggestions like "Get a car la" or "Take taxi la" or "Board the bus/train earlier la" because it is simply not possible in this country where possessing a car or taking a cab is financially prohibitive and leaving early from work (for example at 4pm+) is sure to get one fired!!!

My dear ministers....I beseech you, please quit saying that our transport system is world-class and that we should be grateful that it is not like the one in India...or that we shouldn't just act spoilt/pampered and whine/complain but instead provide concrete suggestions. Simply put...we are not the ones being paid millions per year to solve this kind of problem....you are! If you tell us that it's a complex problem to solve and only another 20% ministers' pay rise can "conjure" up a solution from you, then please let someone else do it for a much affordable solution (why not outsource to cheaper foreigners since you evidently love them so much?).

Please...if you genuinely wish to know why "mere" citizens like us are complaining/whining, please do what Badawi had done and take a bus/train to/from work. Not asking you to do that everyday like the rest of us, but rather just do it for a week or so. See whether YOU will bitch/whine/complain or not.

In addition, please don't wayang and take obscure buse services like no. 103W (it runs only inside the now-deserted Seletar Camp) at obscure hours (weekdays 2pm to 4pm and 11pm to 12am) because only retirees, housewives and "ghosts" will be on the buses/trains. I would strongly recommend services like no. 25/65/854/857/969 (to name just a few) at times like 730am to 9am and 530 to 830pm. Additionally, please do not board those buses/trains at/near the terminus as the overwhelming majority of us can only get on mid-way through the journey. Also, please don't announce it beforehand to SMRT/TIBS (so that they will deliberately close the service for your exclusive use or add more buses) or bring your bodyguards/followers along to strong-arm other commuters away from you to maintain a 1-meter personal space in the trains/buses.

If you can do all that and bear with it for just a single week (mere 5 working days out of 280 that the rest of us have to endure) without uttering a single complaint, then yes, we will henceforth shut up and accept that our transport system is indeed world-class and that we are just pampered brats just like you said.

Finally, please don't ask an underling to attempt this as he/she will inevitably sugar-coat the whole experience in order to gain favour and advance up the PAP ranks. I'm offering this challenge to the ministers only(no MPs,NCMPs,grassroot leaders and SPH reporters please....).

If you truly can do all these and still come out of it saying it's well-worth the frequent fare hikes then we, the commuters of Singapore, will well and truly make our peace.

We are not pissed because we cannot take hardship. Rather, we are pissed because you keep flinging the "the fare hikes are fully justified because our transport system is world-class" statements into our faces time and time again.

From a concerned, non-FT, non-elite and 3rd generation Singaporean heartlander.

dear friends, i beg you - please, do not invite our elite ministers to take the trains! You are inviting trouble. They will close the stations, have hundreds of their aides, SMRT managers, and grassroots leaders surround the ministers. They will NEVER get a picture of the real deal. The ST will report it the next day about the wonderful experience our ministers had, and then the fares will go up again. Meanwhile, poor layman commuters like us will suffer even more. The system is bad enough as it is, so please just leave it alone! Thank you!

first, should invite rich ministers in church to ride the train. if they dont show example, how to tell some of their followers who are rich ministers of the state to ride the train and test test??..tsk tsk tsk.

In all fairness, Malaysian LRT trains aren't underutilized. They're packed like sardines during peak hour and their capacity is nowhere near Singaporean MRTs. Plus, we have to buy another ticket to get on another line - and the machines are somewhat a bitch to use which means long queues at the ticketing counter :(

I thought most Malaysians drive proton sagas. What may be sardines to you may be off peak to Singaporeans. I thought taxis cost like RM$5 for an average journey - that is the flag down fare in Singaore.